Vindicated
by CSI Ames
Summary: A Penny/Sheldon fan fic based on the song "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional. Sheldon knows of 1 social paradigm in which people exchange jewellery. But could he be wrong for once? And can science help him to finally explain it to her?


**HEY ALL!**

**Yeah, yet another Penny/Sheldon fan fic. Thanks to all those who have subscribed to these, it really encourages me to keep going. Sorry for the long break as well, I know I was posting one a day at one point, but I've had to work leading up to the holidays. **

**ANYHOO- This is set to the song "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional. For all those nerds (loud and proud!) out there, you probably know that this is a song on the Spiderman soundtrack, so I think it makes extra sense for it be a Sheldon fan fiction. Haha. **

**As for the equation down the bottom, I got it off of a google search, so please don't email me to tell me it's wrong. I'm more than aware that it may be, as it isn't even a real science! Haha. **

**As always, I don't own any of the characters or the song, so enjoy and review please!**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS! **

_Hope dangles on a string  
Like slow spinning redemption  
Winding in and winding out  
The shine of it has caught my eye_

The pendant was garish and not something that Penny would have picked for herself. He was sure of that at least. What he was not sure of is why she was wearing it.

_And roped me in  
So mesmerizing, so hypnotizing  
I am captivated_

He wanted to ask her about it, but not being very aware of social paradigms, he was aware he might hit a nerve in which she might storm out of the apartment.

Which he knew was followed by Leonard glaring at him and demanding that he go over there and apologise. Far too much effort to exert on Halo night.

Besides, as much as he hated the fact that Penny was a natural at Halo, he needed her around to help him beat Wolowitz. The scrawny little imp had won his Flash #123 comic in a cricket identification fiasco.

Sheldon sighed and was both annoyed and flattered that Penny looked at him, interested in what had made Sheldon display this rare trait of frustration in a public environment. He simply looked down at his takeout and played around with his food.

Perhaps Penny had a new beau? He thought to himself. It wouldn't be utterly impossible, what with the amount of men that were seen entering and exiting her apartment. Recently Leonard had been one of those men.

Luckily his episode of emo songs and wanting to procure a pet cat had been a short one, considering the length of the dating period. In fact, according to Sheldon's equation for the situation, it was a very short time. So much so he was willing to accept it as a piece of pointless information and ignore the fact that it had happened.

_I am Vindicated  
I am selfish  
I am wrong  
I am right  
I swear I'm right  
I swear I knew it all along  
_

He looked over at the pendant Penny was wearing. It was large and far too flashy for her. A very attractive petite girl, it seemed overly large for her frame. Obviously the person who had bought it for her was either very ostentatious or had forgotten how beautiful Penny's form could be.

Albeit, saved from the massive pendent now hanging from her neck. It couldn't be good for her vertebrae, holding up that large chunk of metal alloy.

Sheldon poked at his dinner with his fork and remembered back to the day Penny had fallen over in the shower... Yes, she had a very beautiful frame. For someone of a different evolutionary period. He reminded himself. He knew he shouldn't be thinking of Penny like that. It was inappropriate. He had gathered that much from that insufferable Sex and the City show that Penny insisted on watching on Anything Can Happen Thursday. Penny and Leonard had dated; therefore she was unavailable to him. An unspoken law as it were.

But he knew, he had known for a long time, since far before the shower instance that his feelings for Penny extended further than the traditional friendship feelings. He wasn't sure when he had realised, at least subconsciously, but he remembers the day he knew on a physical level.

It was a rainy Wednesday in June. So easy to remember, because it was a day of anomalies. Firstly, it was raining in the middle of summer. Secondly, the university had decided that for its annual newsletter to prospective students, the engineering department would be focus and that Wolowitz would be a big feature.

Thirdly, he had noticed the way that Penny's summer dress, lightly dripping with rain from the unexpected rain shower had skimmed over her curves and the way that her loosely wound ponytail had unfurled from the nape of her neck, a few blonde strands sticking to the curve of her neck.

"Sheldon?"

A light voice was at his ear. He turned and saw himself face to face with Penny.

"Is everything ok honey?" She asked.

He nodded and looked down at his takeaway food. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her appraising his expression and an expression Sheldon hadn't seen since the way his mother looked at him as a child crossed her face- tenderness.

_And I am flawed  
But I am cleaning up so well  
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself  
_

"You are utterly infuriating!" Leonard screamed across the hall. Sheldon turned back to face his flatmate.

"I do not think so Leonard, and I am unable to see why you think so."

"You can't call someone else's experiment worthless when you know it isn't! Just because you didn't think of it first!" Leonard was turning red with indignation. Sheldon couldn't see why. He had simply voiced his opinion.

Apparently this was a social convention that was only a "sometimes" thing to do. As Penny had tried to explain to him last thanksgiving when he had mentioned that Wolowitz's mother's cooking smelt like burning rubber. He smiled when he remembered sitting next to Penny at the table, with the Turbriskofil sitting unpleasantly in front of them. He remembered the way that Penny's face had scrunched up in distaste, but how she had still managed to down a helping.

Something he hadn't been able to do.

Still, Penny had been there as he had raced out of the front door to emergency evacuate his mouthful.

"Ugh!" He spat. "That is worse than when the church made Galileo apologise for his books! How can anyone stomach that monstrosity?"

She rubbed small soothing circles on his back as he bent at the base of a tree besides the porch.

"I know honey. But you really should have tried to eat at least a little bit. It's rude."

"What social convention could possibly have people undergo gastric torture under the guise of appreciation?" He argued back.

Penny laughed.

"That's what I love about you Sheldon. You're not afraid to let people know exactly what you think. Meanwhile, I'm trying to think of a white lie to help us get out of here to while not hurting Howard's mum's feelings."

"But why Penny? Why would you help me cover up this serious _faux pas_ as it were?"

"Because that's what friends do Sheldon. We help each other."

Sheldon stood upright and as he looked down at Penny and she looked up at him, he was aware how physically close they were.

"Why are we friends Penny? I mean..." He struggled to find the words. Something that frustrated him as it had never happened before. "I mean, I must irritate you with my actions and habits and yet you are as patient with me as the day we met."

She looked puzzled.

"I guess, what I'm asking is: why?" He posed.

"Because." She smiled. "Underneath that extremely annoying exterior is a caring guy. Someone who helps his damsels in distress, someone who does care about his friends."

Sheldon scoffed.

"Admit it, Sheldon." She smiled. "You couldn't be without your friends now. How much do you look forward to Comic Book Night and Vintage Video Game Night? That couldn't happen without your friends." She touched his arm and he was surprised to find that beneath his long sleeved shirt, goose bumps erupted on his skin.

A rudimentary response, he shrugged it away. It was mildly chilly out tonight.

But even now, as Leonard continued to yell at how narcissistic and neurologically damaged he was, Sheldon wasn't listening. He had made a decision. He was going to ask Penny about the necklace.

She wouldn't take it as a cultural mistake. But he had to take a trip to the mall first.

_So clear  
Like the diamond in your ring  
Cut to mirror your intentions  
Oversized and overwhelmed  
The shine of which has caught my eye  
And rendered me so isolated, so motivated  
I am certain now that_

Sheldon stood at the doorway to Penny's apartment, his face agape with the new apparition on Penny's finger. The ring was old fashioned and on a very odd finger.

"Sheldon?" His face was still in shock.

Surely Penny would have informed them of a relationship before it progressed to engagement.

Surely he knew enough of romantic relationships to understand the rate of progress before this occurred.

"Sheldon? What is it?" She repeated.

"The ring..." He muttered. Looking at the ground. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise." He quickly turned and escaped to the safety of his apartment, locking it on the way in. He looked through the peep hole and saw Penny, locked in the same position as he left her in. The large ring was glinting in the fluorescent lights of the apartment building's hall lights.

_I am Vindicated  
I am selfish  
I am wrong  
I am right  
I swear I'm right  
I swear I knew it all along_

He ran to his room, slamming the door behind him and lay on his bed. His hands folded neatly behind his head. He stared at the ceiling and tried to concentrate.

This is why he was not allowed to find any member of this species attractive, he thought bitterly. It only led to these feelings of rejection and unappreciation. At that moment, he heard three small knocks on the door. He raised his head as Penny walked into his room.

"Penny, people cannot be in my room." He lay back on his hands.

"Tough." Penny crossed the room quickly and sat on the end of the bed. "Are you ok? You took off so quickly, you scared me."

Sheldon looked up and the same expression of tenderness was on Penny's face just like the other night.

"I just don't understand." He mumbled.

For a moment, Penny looked shocked. Then she smiled.

"The ring?" She asked.

Sheldon said nothing, just nodded while he stared at the ceiling.

"Do you need me to explain?"

Sheldon remained silent, still staring at the ceiling.

Penny sighed.

"Soft kitty, warm kitty. Little ball of-"

"That's for when I'm sick!" Sheldon snapped.

"I know," Penny smiled. "But it's my sad song. I sing it when I'm sad. And right now, I'm sad."

"Why are you sad?" Sheldon turned to face her.

"Because someone I care for very much is ignoring me and won't let me explain."

Sheldon gestured for her to continue.

"A couple of years ago, my aunt died and her estate only went through a couple of weeks ago. My sister and I got her jewellery and that's what I've been wearing."

"But as much as I understand it, that's an engagement ring on an engagement finger."

"It's the only finger it fits on. Until I get a chain to hang it on around my neck, that's the only place I can hang it. I was really close to my aunt so I want to wear her jewellery all the time."

Sheldon sighed. He understood. There was no man. There never was.

_So turn  
Up the corners of your lips  
Part them and feel my finger tips  
Trace the moment, fall forever  
Defense is paper thin  
Just one touch and I'd be in  
Too deep now to ever swim against the current  
So let me slip away  
So let me slip against the current  
So let me slip away _

"Better?" Penny asked.

"Yes." Sheldon smiled. "But Penny?"

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"I don't like those on you. They're far too big for your frame." He stood and walked over to his statue of the Green Lantern and pulled the hollowed out buttocks away from the body. He removed a small wrapped package and returned to the bed. Sitting on it, he handed the small package to Penny.

"What is this Sheldon?"

"Just open it." He smiled.

Penny removed the ribbon and the wrapping and swung open the box by the hinge.

"Oh, Sheldon. It's perfect!"

It was a fine gold chain, with a small pendant hanging from it. The words:

L = Gt^2/s^4

"But what does it mean?"

Sheldon looked at his bed covers and then stared right into her eyes.

"It's the equation for love Penny."

She seemed to consider that for a minute. She held the pendant in her hand and stared at it.

Sheldon sat patiently, wondering what she was going to do next. After a full minute, she looked back at him. Scooting her body across the bed sheets, she placed a hand on his face and leant in to kiss him softly.

Then Sheldon did a very un-Sheldon like thing.

He kissed her back. Her lips moved across his fluidly, so he followed her lead.

After several minutes, they broke apart.

"Wow." She muttered. Sheldon only looked at the bedcovers. He was experiencing emotions like he had never felt in his life and as he tried to make sense of them, Penny carefully removed the ring from her finger and placed it on the necklace next to the word pendant.

"Now I have two things I love next to my heart." She smiled.

_I am Vindicated  
I am selfish  
I am wrong  
I am right  
I swear I'm right  
I swear I knew it all along_

Slight hope  
It dangles on a string  
Like slow spinning redemption...

And all I need


End file.
